Animal rescue volunteers to share experiences

Staff writer, with CNA

Fri, Nov 16, 2012 - Page 3

About 30 animal rescue volunteers will gather tomorrow to share their experience in animal protection, with an animal protection-themed art exhibition to be held to raise awareness about animal welfare, according to event organizers.

Among the stories that will be highlighted is one about “little moon,” a black-and-white cat found on the streets with serious injuries who is now in the good hands of one of the group’s members, event organizer Charlotte Chien said.

The cat has served as an inspiration for many of the paintings which will be displayed at the gallery in downtown Taipei, Chien said.

She said that aside from the paintings, a music video featuring Houtong (猴硐) area in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Ruifang District (瑞芳), also known as “cat village” for its large number of stray cats, will be shown during the gathering to help promote the idea of adopting stray animals as pets.

Abandoned and stray animals are a big problem in Taiwan. However, according to media reports, Taipei earlier this week reported positive results in its control of stray animals.

According to city statistics, Taipei has applied the “trap, neuter and release” program to more than 12,000 cats over the last seven years, which translates to preventing the births of about 70,000 cats.

A total of 207 out of more than 450 boroughs in Taipei have participated in the program, the city government said.

However, many cities and counties in the country do not have such a program. As a result many strays continue to reproduce on the streets, leading to more stray animals being born.

According to animal rights groups’ estimates, about 100,000 stray animals are put to death by government-run animal shelters in the nation each year, because of the low adoption rate and a short 12-day period during which the animals can be adopted after being caught and taken to the shelters.